When does a house become a house?

Tonight, I spoke with the construction crew and they had excellent news for me. The house now has 4 walls. Just yesterday there were only 2 walls and I could imagine our dream home taking shape. Now with 4 walls, the house is suddenly beginning to have heart and soul! There are two tired men and a pooped pooch. All three have left a piece of themselves in today's work.

I am away for a few days and won't see the changes until Thursday. By then, there will be a second floor and more exciting stuff. I CAN'T WAIT!! I wish I could be there, but seriously I would not be any help with all my clumsiness.



**Please note that the design above is an earlier version. Our house will be slightly different. On the first floor there will be 3 patio doors and a few less windows on the second floor.

A helping hand makes housebuilding more fun

Gilles and I were very excited to have our friend Steve come for a visit ad spend 2 weeks helping build the house. Since we bought the land, we spent many dinners, evenings and afternoons with Steve contemplating the design of the house. At times Gilles and Steve would spend hours on the detail of the house: thickness of walls, inches between the countertops in the kitchen and the island, the slop of the roof, etc. The idea if the house and the design of it began to take such a presence in our lives that there were also countless hours of research and dreaming. Steve was very excited to be part of it and graciously chose to spend 2 weeks of his vacation in hard labour - "Habitat for Sutton". Although he arrived Saturday night, we did not want to put him to work right away. On Sunday, Steve had his safety orientation and site visit. He now knows what he is dealing with and he is excited to get started. We spent the afternoon discovering the Eastern Townships: Abercorn, Dunham, Frelighsburg and Sutton. Steve got a good sense of the architecture and history of the area as well as the local bounty of ciders and wines that the area offers. At night, the full on discussions began. There was brain storming session after session.  Gilles would simply state to Steve, "I need for you to contemplate the stairs... or any other topic to discuss". Steve would just jump right in. You could see the happiness on Gilles' face. So many decisions to make and to be able to discuss them with someone so equally detailed...

Well, I am off to Toronto today and will not get to see any progress for a few days. I look forward to my return to see their progress. By the time I get home there should be 4 walls and the second story will be progressing. I can't wait to go inspect their work and hear the results of more brainstorming sessions

THANK YOU STEVE for coming, for your time and the hard work to follow 

&

THANK YOU GILLES for all that you do to build our dream house 

& 

THANK YOU CHULITA for being a good foreman and making sure all is well on the construction site

Fall brings exciting changes to Sutton

Yesterday, I had a lovely drive in the countryside. The leaves are changing colour and the peak of the fall foliage is closing in. It is glorious to  see the leaves change colour on a daily basis and notice the subtle changes. Some trees have the lower branches in green while the upper branches are flaming red. The oranges and yellows are are exquisite in their brightness and variety of tones. Truly a feast to the eyes!!

The last of the hay bales have been rolled. The rolling fields are changing. Gone are the wildflowers of a few weeks ago.  The nights are cooler and the the wood stove is getting put to use. The season is changing and so is our progress with the home. We have been here 2 months now and we can count our blessings through our progress. We now have a shed, a road, a foundation, a basement, electricity and 2 walls. Yippie!!!

Our good friend Steve has arrived to help us for 2 weeks with the framing and other such construction needs. We are so excited to have him here with us. The progress in the next 2 weeks should be extraordinary. I can't wait to see the house go up. For more photos on the construction progress, click here

For more photos on fall in Sutton, click here. I will post more as the season progresses.

The construction progresses despite the minor stresses of life

The beautiful shed awaiting its roof

During the past week and half, we encountered quite a bit of ups and down and stresses that can make life frustrating:

• Plume, Sara's dog jumped out of the window of the car Gilles was driving and had to have surgery on her hind leg
• My dad was hospitalized due to an infection.
• I ran into some difficulties transferring my drivers license to Quebec. I think it was the first time I overtly encountered discrimination. 
• The hot water in the shower upstairs is shot and I received notice that the our water was not potable.
• Gilles was frustrated because it rained all week which made his efforts that much more complicated. To top it off, he had to move the floor joists in place all by himself and they are mighty heavy.

All these thing were frustrating, scary or stressful. The good news is that all of these have now been resolved. Both Plume and my Dad are doing better. Although, Plume is now better behaved since she is in recovery mode and my Dad is as stubborn as ever. I eventually got my drivers license and the unpleasantness was forgotten with the kindness of SAAQ employees in another city. Gilles managed to move the joists in place.

Today, it seems as though all the frustrations that I recently encountered started to fade away. This morning, I began by making curtains for the shed. Then, I went to the land to measure the length of the first curtain to make sure all was ok. I brought lots of goodies and we had a great picnic together.  While I was there, I took time to organize the shed and sweep the sawdust. Did I mention that I am going to take up curling? I have to get in all the practice I can.

Today, is a glorious September day. The sun is shining. The air is crisp. The leaves are starting to timidly change colours. The sounds of Jazz are present in the village for Sutton's Jazz Festival. Somehow, a day in Sutton can right all the frustrations. I am now making my first stew of the season: a beef burguignon. Just call me Julia, 'cause it is going to be to die for. Leonard Cohen is playing in the background while I cook. And suddenly, I realize that this is all part of the journey. This is where I am meant to be: amidst the fields of corn, amongst the cows and horses, surrounded by beautiful churches with history and beauty, amongst folks who happily speak in French and English and nobody cares how anyone speaks or where they are from. Most importantly, I am meant to be where I am loved and where I love. Thank you Gilles and Chulita for helping me when times get stressful!

For more pics, click on the link

All Saints Church  - Abercorn

La Cigale et la fourmi

My fondest memories of my lengthy commute to Sacred Heart from our suburban home was listening to Papi and his ramblings. In particular, I remember him going on and on about how he knew French. He would then proceed to recite the La Fontaine's fable, "La Cigale et la fourmi". I don't recall if he ever got beyond, "la Cigale ayant chanté tout l'été", but it did not matter. I cherished those moments. Years later, when I read the full version I understood and appreciated the meaning of this cute fable.

Fast forward many years, and here I am reminded once again of this cute fable. I was on the phone with Papi talking in Spanish. I made a little error and he giggled. I said that it was hard with so many languages in my head that I was bound to mix things up. He agreed and once again began reciting La Cigale et la Fourmi.  I looked it up on the internet and reread it and thought of the many parallels with my life this summer.

Luckily for me, I married "la fourmi". Gilles has been working non-stop to get our project well advanced before winter. Words truly can't describe how impressed I am with the results of the shed. He has worked through a broken toe. He did not even stop to go get it checked out, but it was obvious based on the pain and many colors it displayed. He toughed it out and kept going. He hiked 12 km to come home one night with his broken toe and batteries for his power tools. He has definitely put sweat equity into the project, nailing each nail by hand. It can't get have a smaller carbon footprint. He rarely complains of the fatigue and pain from all the work. He simply looks forward to a cold beer when he comes home at the end of the day.

Our project is getting more and more exciting as we see the fruits of his labour. Soon, our good friend Steve will come and help with the framing. Then, Papi will come and help paint the clapboard. Before you know it, we will have a house. Next summer, once the house is completed, we will embrace and cherish the spirit of "La Cigale" and sing to our hearts' content.

For more pictures of the shed, click on the link

La Cigale et la fourmi

La Cigale, ayant chanté
Tout l'été,
Se trouva fort dépourvue
Quand la bise fut venue.
Pas un seul petit morceau
De mouche ou de vermisseau.
Elle alla crier famine
Chez la fourmi sa voisine,
La priant de lui prêter
Quelque grain pour subsister
Jusqu'à la saison nouvelle.
« Je vous paierai, lui dit-elle,
Avant l'oût, foi d'animal,
Intérêt et principal. »
La Fourmi n'est pas prêteuse ;
C'est là son moindre défaut.
« Que faisiez-vous au temps chaud ?
Dit-elle à cette emprunteuse.
--Nuit et jour à tout venant
Je chantais, ne vous déplaise.
--Vous chantiez ? j'en suis fort aise.
Eh bien ! dansez maintenant. »

Jean de LA FONTAINE
Fables, livre I (1668)

The Grasshopper and the Ant 

The grasshopper, having sung
All summer long,
Found herself most destitute,
When the North Wind came.
Not a morsel to her name
Of either fly or worm.
She blurted out her tale of want
To her neighbour Mistress Ant,
And begged her for a loan
Of grain to last her
Till the coming spring.
"I shall pay you", were her words,
"On insect oath, before the fall,
Interest and principal."
Mistress Ant is not a lender -
That's the last thing to reproach her with!
"Tell me how you spent the summer?"
Was what she asked the borrower.
"Night and day, to every comer,
I sang, so please you ma'am."
"You sang? I'm delighted.
Now off you go and dance!"

La semaine de la canicule - The week of the heat wave

This week was pretty hot and humid! I know that I grew up in New Orleans and I should be used to it, but really after 15 years in Vancouver, I can't handle the heat. Luckily, the heat is slightly milder. On Monday, I went to Montreal to attend green drinks. It was hot trying to find the place. At night when I headed home, it was no cooler. By the time I arrived at Sara's I was drenched in sweat. The next day I quickly headed home. The forecast was for more heat in Montreal and the temperature was going to keep climbing. I fantasizes about the coolness of the countryside. When I got home, it was not any cooler. There also was no cool breeze that I had gotten used too.

I spent the next few days trying many different techniques to staying cool, some more or less successful:

• going to the beer cooler at the grocery store - by the way, you get funny looks if you are in there too long. I don't recommend whipping out you iPad
• washing the car - True, it is a productive activity, but despite how much you splash water on yourself with the hose, you will still be hot from the physical exertion
• taking lots of showers - with the well now fully functioning, there is no shortage of water. It is great, cheap and limitless. One drawback,the hot water tank failed Thursday night and I did not even notice.
• singing and playing in the rain. Thursday night downpour came. I was so excited that I belted out a poor rendition of Gene Kelly's "singing in the rain". Gilles came home around that time and we started spontaneously playing in the rain. We turned in the hose and washed the other car. This was great fun and made me feel like a kid again. Unfortunately, the heat lingered. Yuck :-(

Well, today, all is better. I no longer need to fantasize of big dumps of snow. It has started to rain in Sutton and the temps are going down. Ah, sweet sweet rain, i never thought I would be so happy to see you!

For those that don't know me well, here is a bit of info. Gilles usually teases me saying that if I am 1 degree off my regular temperature, watch out. So with the temps rising, I wanted to do whatever could to get cooler. I became somewhat obsessed this week.

Living in the Eastern townships has linguistically advantages. Most people here in Sutton are bilingual. They have a unique tendency to start in French. Then, when they realize you too speak English. But then, a curious thing begins to happen, people pick and choose words that are more descriptive or more à propos. So, when I speak, I find myself wanting to switch back and forth and use the words I prefer. This may work in Sutton, but does not work as well with purist whether anglophone or francophones. I suspect I may start speaking this way in my blog. So, forgive me in advance and perhaps the "purists" may find a few words to their liking. One such example is "la canicule". Such a simple, cute term to describe a few hellish days.